As part of its efforts to boost its military capacity, the Belgian Army is reforming its selection procedure, report the Mediahuis newspapers on Monday.
Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder (PS) stated that the selection procedure is "no longer adapted to the current situation." A range of selection criteria are being revised, such as the strict vision requirement for pilots,
The Ministry of Defence has undertaken a huge recruitment campaign and is now seeking to also modernise the selection procedure.
Key revisions are centred on easing the medical requirements for future military recruits.
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Working groups are discussing the criteria in light of medical advancements in recent years. In addition, Belgian criteria for joining the army are being compared with neighbouring countries as well as requirements enforced by NATO.
Experts have suggested that Belgium's strict vision requirements for pilots are much higher than in neighbouring countries. Further to this, the army is reconsidering the selection process for hearing problems.
Moreover, the Defence Ministry is examining how to include those with underlying health issues.
At the moment, candidate military personnel with diabetes are still excluded from military posts, but once the reforms have been implemented, they should be able to take up certain functions within the military.
